-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The only bears known to inhabit New York 's Central Park are at its zoo -- so how did a dead bear cub end up under a bush ?

Neither police nor park officials had an answer for that late Monday , hours after a morning dog walker discovered the carcass of a 3-foot-tall bear cub . The person alerted a Central Park Conservancy worker who then called the police , according to Central Park Conservancy spokeswoman Elizabeth Kaledin .

She added that the bear was not from the park 's zoo , but `` any time wildlife is hurt or injured we are upset and deeply alarmed . ''

The cub was found under a bush near West 69th Street and West Drive in the park , and appeared to show signs of trauma with an injury to its side and possible lacerations , police said .

It was not immediately clear whether the bear wandered into the park or if its body was dumped there , an NYPD spokeswoman said .

The incident is being investigated by the NYPD 's animal cruelty squad , the spokeswoman added .

The carcass was taken to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in Albany for a necropsy , according to police .

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Bear cub not from Central Park Zoo

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Cub 's body showed signs of trauma

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NYPD is investigating as possible animal cruelty